Nation of animal lovers or keepers?

Yet according to the national animal charity, the RSPCA, animal cruelty is on the increase with 159,831 complaints being investigated in 2014 compared to 153,770 in 2013.

One in eight of the complaints it investigated, a total of 20,258 cases, involved alleged deliberate and often violent cruelty to animals.

Terry Singh, manager of the RSPCA’s Bradford & District branch based in Mount Street, says: “Bradford has its share of neglect and cruelty like many other areas but fortunately the inspectors are able to investigate and take appropriate action where necessary.

“You try to educate people but unfortunately there is a saying you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. I don’t know what the answer is, it is quite appalling really and whether more and more people are noticing and identifying complaints in Yorkshire it is difficult to say but we do have our share of animal neglect.”

He recalls a pedigree dog, brought into the branch as a stray, was in such a state of neglect its bones were showing. “It was in appalling condition and it was as if it had escaped from somewhere,” says Terry.

“The problem is they can be kept somewhere where nobody sees them until, by luck, somebody reports the situation to the RSPCA inspectors.”

Terry questions whether we are actually a nation of animal lovers or animal keepers and is keen to encourage people to think seriously before taking on a pet and consider the care, commitment as well as the costs involved.

He says dogs in particular need socialisation otherwise they will get bored and develop bad habits or end up roaming the streets.

“People need to spend time with them,” says Terry.

He says they also need to consider when they are taking on a pet that it is for life and not just for the short-term.

“We see a lot of lovely dogs that are abandoned because people cannot afford them or made a mistake,” says Terry.

“People need to seriously consider what is the important thing about having a dog and what does it entail?”

While dogs are most likely to fall victim to alleged deliberate cruelty, the majority of which were reported as beaten, cats, rabbits and small animals have also been affected.

Frank the kitten was recently taken into the Bradford branch with an injured leg. The fact the young feline was found roaming indicates he may have been suffering from neglect.

Sadly Frank’s leg was so severely damaged it had to be amputated. Thankfully though, the branch’s veterinary team nursed him back to health and he is now seeking a loving home.

And 14 red setters were seized from their Bradford home in January last year after they were found being kept in the “worst conditions ever seen” by an RSPCA inspector. The dogs are being looked after and cared for by the RSPCA.

But not all tales have a happy ending.

The T&A previously reported a white rabbit had been found with its ears cut off and had a badly broken back leg in a park in Great Horton, Bradford. Despite treatment, the rabbit sadly died.

RSPCA chief veterinary officer, James Yeates, said: “It is extremely concerning that we are still receiving more than 20,000 complaints about animals being deliberately caused to suffer and that’s 20,000 too many.

“Most of the complaints we receive involve animals being neglected or not receiving the right care and often we can put that right by offering welfare advice.

“However, it is shocking that in 2014 people are still being deliberately cruel in what can be disturbingly inventive ways.”

The number of convictions and people convicted for animal cruelty fell last year, however, with 1,029 people convicted of animal welfare crimes in 2014 in England and Wales, down from 1,371 in 2013.

But the charity said many owners listened to advice given by RSPCA inspectors, with the number of people who were offered and accepted welfare advice increasing from 76,810 in 2013 to 82,746 in 2014.

Mr Yeates said: “Our aim is always to prevent cruelty so it’s really positive that a greater number of people followed our advice whether that means getting veterinary care for them or just giving them the right diet.

“Sadly, though, where cruelty is still happening there will be a need to prosecute in the most serious cases and it is upsetting that so many people are still mistreating animals by deliberating causing them harm or by not providing them with the care they deserve.”